Negros Occidental pioneered the ban on GMOs when it passed the ordinance, also called the “Safeguard Against Genetically Modified Organisms,” in 2007. The province, along with Negros Oriental, has been putting measures into place to turn Negros into an organic food island. Last April, the local government upheld the ban by rejecting shipments of illegal GMO corn at the capital’s port in Bacolod City.
Greenpeace has documented projects on millions of farms in more than 50 countries around the world, and findings reveal that switching to sustainable farming methods increases harvests by an average of 73% — showing that the world’s poor can feed themselves by using cheap, locally-available technologies that will not damage the environment.

Below is a photo essay by Gigie Cruz-Sy about the plight of Organic Farming in the region